I found a Mind Sports slide presentation which says the following:
Go originated in South-East Asia, and the majority of Go players and fans
will be found in that area.
Private initiative characterises the organisation of Go which explains the
strong ties with the media
and business.
GO is well recognized by Asian people & institutions
In China, the government strongly supports the organisation and
promotion of Go.
In Japan Go is recognised as an instrument contributing to key
elements of human life, such as
young people’s education, leisure activities, mental care for the
aged, promotion of culture.
In Korea the demand for Go is rising rapidly. A number of Korean
youngsters are the top
players in the world. They are role models for the Korean youth. In
many schools Go is part of
the curriculum.
Many Go teachers and promoters have travelled around the world and
popularised the game of Go.
Nowadays, Go is heavily broadcast in Asia:
15 Chinese television networks. Go broke record of TV viewers on CCTV.
3 Korean TV channels are dedicated solely to GO.
Japan’s National Station (NHK) organises a tournament running throughout
the year which is
broadcast for two hours every Sunday, attracting a very large audience.
Mind Sports claims there are 60 million Go players and 300 million chess
players worldwide.
The usgo.org site claims that there are 100 million go players worldwide.
I have been told by a Korean professional that the popularity of Baduk in Korea
is rising quite rapidly.
Terry McIntyre <[email protected]>
-- Libertarians Do It With Consent!
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